Slip of the Tongue
by haze1982
Summary: Sirius Black loses his temper and divulges Remus' secret to Severus without thinking. He never thought the consequences of his actions could be so grim. Has he truly lost Remus forever? Rated M for swearing. Not exactly slash . This is more of a friendship fic. ONE SHOT This is my take on that fateful night that Severus finds out Remus' secret.


_**Slip of the Tongue**_

_**Summary: Sirius Black loses his temper, divulging Remus' secret to Severus without thinking. He never thought the consequences of his actions could be so grim. Has he truly lost Remus forever?**_

_**Warnings: Angst, Swear Words. **_

_**Disclaimer: No. I don't own them. **_

_**############**_

_**Late February/Night of the Full Moon - 1977**_

Sirius Black, the boy who had spent his entire Hogwarts' career building up the reputation for being full of mischief and pranks, sat in the Headmaster's office. None of what he had done prior to this moment could even touch his latest deed. He was still half lit from the fire whiskey he had consumed earlier. The drink that made his tongue a bit more loose when he bumped into Severus 'Snivellus' Snape in the corridors. That moment was when he normally would have just hexed the dark Slytherin. Hindsight being twenty-twenty, that was precisely what he should have done. Snape called him a blood traitor filth who deserved a dementor's kiss and didn't deserve to live. He looked over at Snape who sat in the chair across from him. At the time, he shouted as he questioned why the boy was even out. Severus, none too gently, announced that he knew that Remus had snuck out again and was on his way to inform the Headmaster. Sirius told him he had no idea what he was going on about and to back off of him and his friends. When Severus told him to make him, the argument went on and that's when he told the greasy git exactly where to find Remus. Sirius thought that if he found him before he and the other two Marauders reached Remus, then he'd find out who didn't deserve to live. Had it not been for James, that is exactly what would have happened. A heated argument, slip of the tongue, and now they were sitting side by side quietly as they waited for the Headmaster to join them.

"You tried to kill me," Severus finally said something in a low whisper. Sirius heard his voice quivering at the realization of what could have happened. The young Gryffindor held his hand over his eyes to block out what light was in the Headmaster's office and groaned. He didn't know what to say. "Lupin is a werewolf. A dirty, vile creature and he could have killed me. You knew it. He knew it. You will all pay for this."

Sirius swallowed hard, trying to digest the words and also wanting to keep his tongue at a halt for once. He was already in deep water and he knew it. Finally, the Headmaster opened the door and stood in front of them. Sirius looked over is hand, up at the white haired wizard, and closed his eyes again. The anger radiating from him was so emotional, now it was physical and he felt every bit of it.

"Severus. I would like to hear from you what happened tonight, my boy. If you please," Dumbledore started the chain of dialogue.

"What happened? I almost got killed by your precious, holier than thou Gryffindors. He knew it all along and sent me there. Remus surely knew of it as did Potter. Thank Merlin that James had the sense to pull me out but, I would wager he only did that, to save his own hide more than anything."

"I assure you that neither Mr. Potter nor Mr. Lupin knew of Mr. Black's intentions," Dumbledore attempted to reason with him. Sirius slumped lower in his chair and wrapped his free arm around his stomach, still keeping his hand over his eyes. He had drunk far too much and the nauseating feeling was spreading through him from the alcohol and the guilt coursing through his body.

"Again, you're doing it again. You're not even going to punish them. So what if I did get killed. You would merely ensure that the good name of Potter, Lupin, and Black isn't tarnished!"

"Now, Severus. Please, calm your emotions and listen to reason."

"If anyone is being unreasonable here it's you. I'm sorry but a werewolf, that you knew was here, nearly ripped my throat out!"

"When Mr. Lupin is in that state, he is not himself and he would not knowingly put you in danger. I must have your word that you won't reveal his secret."

Severus became unglued. He stood up in his seat and rose his arms, "Far be it from me to risk exposing that dark creature. And him!" Severus continued and pointed at Sirius, "I assume you want me to keep his actions a secret, too? Just go ahead, slap his hand, and send him to bed with milk and cookies!"

"I understand that you're upset and have every reason to be. I assure you that Mr. Black will not be sent to bed tonight with milk and cookies. I must have your word, it is vital, that you do not tell anyone of what you have learned of Remus."

Severus glared at the Headmaster and dug his fingernails into his palms, forming tiny half crescents in them. He felt the blood rushing to his face and ground out through clenched teeth, "Fine. Can I please leave, now?"

"If I have your word, I believe that will be all. Please, if you need to talk, come and see me."

"Of course I will. After all, you have an uncanny knack of listening to my concerns and for my well being."

"Severus, you know that I care about all of my students."

"Some more than others. Good night, Headmaster." Severus turned heel and stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind him. He didn't even give Sirius a second look or acknowledge his presence as he left.

Dumbledore looked down at Sirius, who was practically curled up in the oversized chair, and sighed. He took the half moon spectacles off his face and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Sirius peeked at him through his fingers and clenched his jaw as the Headmaster started to speak to him, "I have no idea what would cause a boy, bright as you are, to risk the things you have tonight. Severus could have gotten killed, Remus could be sent to Azkaban, I could lose my position, and who knows what other consequences could be dealt tonight. I have never been so disappointed in a student before in my tenure at this school. Why would you betray a friend's secret, Sirius?"

Sirius rubbed his temple and closed his eyes. He whispered through his dry throat, "I don't know, Headmaster."

"That makes everything even more unnerving, you see? To do something as vicious as you have done tonight without a reason."

"I guess I let my temper get the better of me."

"And could have ruined so many lives by doing so. Sirius. Mr. Black, I am going to be perfectly honest with you. I have no idea of how to punish you on this matter. I won't be expelling you but I will start off with giving you detentions for the rest of the school year which will take place every night."

"That's nearly four months of detentions. Why not expel me, Sir?"

"Do you want to be expelled?"

"Of course not. I-I just thought-"

"You will be harshly punished for what you've done. Severus has given his word he won't speak of what happened tonight and I trust he will do as such."

"I understand, Sir."

"I don't think you do. Not really. Do you have any inclination of what could have happened? I thought, I believed, that you and Remus were something of best mates."

"We are, Sir. I would never do anything to hurt him."

"You do realize that if it was revealed of tonight's events, he could not only be hurt but executed?"

"E-ex-executed?"

"The laws and regulations of werewolves is much harsher. If not properly contained or if they pose a viable threat, they will be executed without question. It is not a joyful occasion and they do not show leniency to the werewolf in question."

"But, Sir. It wasn't Remus' fault. I swear he didn't know I would tell. That I did tell. I mean, he trus-"

"He trusted you and, dare I say, that trust may have been misplaced?"

Sirius let his hand fall to his lap and he looked up for the first time to meet the Headmaster's blue eyes. No twinkle and no kindness could be found behind them. Had what he done resulted in Remus not trusting him any longer? "I don't. I mean, I never wanted that. Sir-"

"Hard as it may be, you need to know the facts and here they are. If Remus had of killed Severus or even bit him, he would be forced away by the proper officials from within the ministry. They would interrogate him and he would have to tell them everything. How he was a werewolf. If what Severus said is the truth under Veritaserum. He might very well be tortured. Is that what you want to happen to your friend?"

"Gods no. I didn't know. I didn't think-"

"It's been a very long night, Sirius. I think that we should reconvene this tomorrow. I will oversee your punishment."

Sirius nodded and stood up slowly. He ran a hand through his black, wavy locks and furrowed his brow. He stared blankly towards the door and walked at a slow pace to the door, holding his hand over his heart.

"Headmaster?"

"Yes, my boy?" Dumbledore looked at Sirius' back and tilted his head.

"Could he be executed, really?"

"Sirius. The simple act of him attacking Severus in wolf form could cost him his life. The Ministry and the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures do not take this lightly."

"Severus won't tell, will he?"

"He said he wouldn't. I hope that he will not."

"Me too, Sir." Sirius opened the door and disappeared to his dormitory. He was the only one in their room. James and Peter were with Remus still for his transformation. He lowered his head and looked at the clock ringing in the new hour of three in the morning. The moon would be setting soon and the sun would rise, announcing a new day. A brand new day that would surely be full of change. Remus would know what happened. James would surely tell him. He hoped that all would go as well for his transformation as possible. Since they'd learn to change into their animal forms, Sirius hadn't missed one time of being there for Remus. The change could be catastrophic for Moony. His Moonbeam. Sirius ran to the lavatory, the sickness and stress of the night finally proving to be overwhelming.

######

_**A Few Weeks Later**_

Remus could never be completely hateful to Sirius, even if it was warranted. Sirius could barely stand the short greetings and simple nod of the head that his mate cast his direction. He and Remus were once so close, it was difficult to see them apart. Where there was Remus, any Hogwarts' student could most assuredly find Sirius alongside him. James proved to be just as distant and Peter, well, Peter didn't know who's side to take amongst his marauding friends. The change affected him significantly. He followed their lead before the madness started and now, he was confused even more so than usual. He couldn't believe that Sirius betrayed Remus, he never would have expected that nor could he see how Sirius would be forgiven. Friends don't betray, right?

Sirius spent the days and nights as he had since that fateful night. He'd wake up, eat breakfast, go to classes, and finish the day off polishing or doing whatever chore the Headmaster set out for him. Sometimes, he was allowed to simply do his homework. It became a bit of a routine that he quickly lost himself in to take his mind off the coldness of his mates.

Then, he was woken from his sleep and the monotony was broken at sun rise the next morning. He blinked his eyes to waken himself and peeked out from behind the curtains of his four post bed. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and heard the two large men attempting to keep their voices lowered. They failed miserably as he saw James and Peter climbing out of their beds. The men weren't paying much attention to them. They were dressed in black robes and had their wands pointed towards Remus' bed. Sirius leaped out from under the duvet and the slightly older looking man turned to him, "Get back in your own bed. We are here to apprehend Remus John Lupin."

Remus' eyes widened and he tried to crawl to the other side of his bed. The other man spoke to Remus as the other ensured that the other occupants of the room stayed put.

"By order of the Ministry of Magic and the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, we are to detain Mr. Remus John Lupin. You have been charged with the attack and attempted murder of one, Severus Tobias Snape. You will come quietly or by force. The means matter not much to myself nor to my colleague."

"Wh-what?" Remus stared at the two towering men in shock. They were both over six foot tall and moved towards him.

"I have explained to you already. Now," the first wizard aimed his wand at Remus, sending ropes to bind his hands behind his back, "you can either walk or we can levitate you to the gate to apparate to Ministry for your trial. The choice is yours."

"Trial? Now? I'm still in my pyjamas-"

"You can't take him! It wasn't his fault. Please," Sirius finally broke out of his stupor and James went to join him. They were met by the younger official of the Ministry who tied them with the same spell.

"We can and we will."

"What are you going to do with him? Let him go!" James struggled in his binds.

"He will get a trial, which is more than most werewolves get, and then he will be ex-rather, if he is found guilty, he will be executed."

"Sounds like you've already decided his fate. This isn't fair!"

Peter hid under his duvet and trembled at the intense scene. He didn't know what to do. The wizards lifted Remus into the air, moving his writhing form out of the dorm room. Sirius and James laid next to each other, struggling helplessly to break free to save their friend. Sirius growled and shouted, "Wormtail! Get out from under those blankets and free us! We've got to save Moony!"

Peter slowly pulled down the blanket and looked over at James and Sirius. He tried to stop the quivering in his hand long enough to grab his wand and end the spell set on them.

"What do I use? What sp-spell?"

"For Pete's sake. Pettigrew, have you not paid attention to anything?" Sirius shrieked.

"I'm sorry! I'm scared, all right?!"

"I know. Look, I know you are. Just point your wand at us and say _Finite Incantatem_. Remember?" James said gently as possible. Peter nodded slowly and pointed his wand at his friends. He muddled up the words the first time through his stuttering and by the fifth attempt, he broke the binding ropes from them. Sirius and James sprung up and went to their trunks, retrieving their clothes. They slipped on their shoes and stared at Peter who was still trembling.

"You coming or not?" Sirius impatiently asked.

"I-I-I-"

"Peter. Just stay here. Sirius and I will go ahead. I need you to go to the Headmaster and tell him where we've gone and why, all right? We're going to go to the floo network in Pomfrey's office. We'll meet him there."

"What if she catches you?"

"Sirius and I are going to go too fast for anyone to see anything. We have to go. Go to Dumbledore."

Peter nodded and James gave him a quick pat on the shoulder, "Come on Sirius. We got to get to the Ministry quick."

Sirius had never run so quickly in his life. James usually could beat him in any sport, the only one that could, but Sirius picked up the pace and stormed into the Hospital Wing. Pomfrey tried to stop him but he was already at the hearth. He grabbed the powder and threw it in, shouting the destination loudly. James was right on his feet and they entered the Ministry of Magic. They stopped at the large map that showed where the court room was and took off into a long stride. Sirius gave up trying to walk calmly and burst out into a run once more. The halls and the path seemed to never end. They reached the lift and went to the Courtroom Ten on the tenth level. The lift was fast but not fast enough for Sirius' liking, "Come on, damn it. Fuck, come on."

Finally it stopped and the boys ran out, making their way to the large room. They arrived just in time to see Remus being led off with a thin, tall man roughly directing him into another room. Sirius and James rushed to them and the door closed. They watched through the clear glass as Remus and the man walked towards a block. Moony's hands were still tied behind his back. Sirius lifted his hands to the pane of glass and banged on it, tears streaming down his face. He watched in horror, not even hearing James just as frantically shouting as himself while he hit the glass over and over. The man forced Remus to his knees in front of the block, his long brown hair being roughly tussled forward by the man dressed in black.

"No, NO!" Sirius shouted. He looked over at James and whimpered, "Please, no." James took off and ran to the Head of the Department who had just passed this horrible sentence. Prongs insisted, "Don't do this! Call them back! Let us in there! Don't!"

"We're sorry, son. He had this coming and judgment has been announced. The sentence is being carried out immediately: death."

Sirius faintly heard the man's words. He rested his forehead on the glass, tears flowing from his eyes. The transparent glass was impenetrable and all he could do was watch. The executioner held up a pair of silver manacles and fastened them to Remus' thin wrists. He saw Remus' face cringe in pain and heard the muffled screams from behind the glass.

"Take those off of him! You're hurting him!" Sirius cried out and punched the glass weakly. The man seemed to have heard him, as he turned to look right into Sirius' eyes. He grabbed the sharpened axe and the silver glistened in the light. The axe's sharp blade rested at Remus' neck and Sirius cried out in distress, "Please, Merlin. No." He saw Remus closing his eyes and could have sworn a tear fell down his mate's cheek, across the three slashes. The axe bearer looked into Sirius' eyes and smirked as he lifted the axe.

"I'm so sorry, Moony. I didn't mean it. Please. No. Don't take him from me," Sirius begged and laid his hands, palms flat against the cold glass. He saw the axe lowering: slower, slower, and slower until-

"NO! STOP!" Sirius screamed at the top of his lungs and he shot up straight in his bed. He looked around his dorm room and up into Remus' deep blue eyes. The young werewolf kneeled on Sirius' bed and put his hands gently on his shoulders, "Sirius? Are you all right?"

"Re-Remus? You're alive..."

"Yes. I'm alive," Remus tilted his head and arched an eyebrow.

"You're not dead," Sirius whispered.

"No, I'm not dead."

Sirius looked into Remus' eyes, feeling his own body trembling. Remus pulled his hands away from Sirius and furrowed his brow, "Pads?"

"I'm so sorry, Remus. Merlin, I'm so sorry," Sirius said and leaned over, wrapping Remus in his arms tight. He hugged the smaller boy close to him, making him cough. "Breath. Can't."

"'m sorry. I-" Sirius didn't want to let Remus go. He couldn't.

"I know. Please. Let up a bit," Remus patted Sirius' back gently, coaxing him to ease up.

Sirius loosened his hold and rested his forehead on Remus' shoulder, trying to calm down his sobs. Remus sighed and closed his eyes, "You know, you make it hard for me to be angry at you."

"You should be angry at me. I am so sorry, Moony. I never meant to get you executed."

"Executed? I'm-I haven't been executed."

"In my dream, I guess. Gods, it was terrifying," Sirius whimpered and held on to Remus' sleeping shirt.

"It must have been quite vivid," Remus said and pulled Sirius back so he could look at him. He smiled softly and lifted his fingers to Sirius' face to wipe the tears away. "I'm perfectly alive, Padfoot. See?"

Sirius kept his head lowered, not meeting Remus' eyes.

"Padfoot, look at me."

"I can't. I feel horrible. I shouldn't have ever done that. Pulled that prank on Severus. It wasn't a prank. I just thought if he would back off, that would scare him, and I don't want to lose you," Sirius rambled.

Remus moved up to the head of Sirius' bed and rested his back on the headboard. He pulled Sirius up with him and stared at him. "You're right. You shouldn't have told. Do you have any idea what might have happened?"

Sirius nodded his head, "Very much so. I just dreamed. I mean-it was awful."

"Luckily. Fortunately, it was just a dream but, from the sounds of it and the way you're shaking, a very effective one."

"I know you don't like me much anymore and I don't deserve your friendship but Remus, I am sorry. If I could take it back, I would."

"I don't hate you, Sirius. I could never hate you. I don't understand the things you do but I can't stop being your friend."

"You don't?"

"Sirius. Padfoot? We've known each other for nearly six years now and you were the first to find out my secret. You insisted I wasn't just a dirty, loathsome creature and you helped Peter to understand. I know you don't like Severus but killing him wasn't the answer. Especially making me the weapon of choice."

"I lost my temper. It was a spur of the moment thing, Remus."

"I believe that. You have a tendency of going off the handle and doing things you shouldn't. It would have destroyed me if I had actually murdered him. Strange as it sounds, I am a pacifist to a point."

"Will things ever be the same between us, Moony?"

"Doubtful. It's going to take a long while to trust you completely again. I know that's not what you wanted to hear but if Severus lets it slip-I hate to think of what could happen, mate."

"An axe. Silver. Pain. I don't want to lose you, Moony."

"I don't want to die either. Granted, life has been a bit difficult but I like living. I've grown a strange habit of breathing."

Sirius chuckled and wiped his tears away. He leaned against the headboard and looked towards Remus who was smiling crookedly at him. "It's nice that you're saying more than three words to me."

"I was mad."

"And I was stupid."

"Well, now I wonder if I'm the one dreaming. Sirius Black, admitting that he did something stupid."

"Mark it on your calendar."

Remus shook his head and laughed, "I just might do that."

"Friends?"

"I think our friendship is unconditional. Just please, don't do anything like that again. Plus, I need you for the transformation next month. That last one without you was horrible."

"I remember the scars and the broken arm. I really mucked things up."

"It's in the past and can't be changed. Let's try to make the future a bit better, shall we?"

"I'm definitely in agreement to that, Moonbeam."

Remus smiled towards Padfoot and leaned over to the nightstand, grabbing a tissue to offer it to Sirius. The dog animagus accepted it and wiped his face clean. "I've never seen you cry, you know?"

"Yeah," Sirius whispered.

"Want me to stay in your bed tonight?"

"I'd like that. You calm me."

"As you wish, mate," Remus smiled and got under the covers. Sirius laid down next to Remus and looked into his eyes. Remus gave him a pleasant wink, "I'll always be your friend."

"Thank you, Moony."

"Anytime. Good night."

Sirius reached over and turned out the light, "Good night, Moony."

"Good night, Padfoot. Good night, Moony," James called out.

Peter sighed happily as he listened to his friends make up and hoped that things would return to normal. "Good night, mates."

The End

######

_**A/N: I wasn't sure if I should put Character Death as a warning considering Remus sort of died but sort of didn't die. I didn't want to give away too much of the plot. Hope you enjoyed my take on the infamous night. **_


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